Navigating the Spiritual Battle: Facing Inner Challenges

Hashem bestowed the souls of Israel through a supreme unity, calling them His children, unique in all worlds. He loves them more than the angels and sent them into this world commanding them with Torah and mitzvot out of love. He also commanded them to avoid the *yetzer hara*, as anyone who approaches it is deemed unworthy to enter the Garden of Eden, the King's palace. The souls accepted this oath before descending to this world: not to be swayed by the *yetzer hara*, nor to sin in this world...

The entire world is Hashem's house, and outside the realm of holiness lies the shell known as 'the harlot' tempting with the pleasures of this material world.

As a person advances in Torah and work, Hashem wishes to test him: after a thousand years of labor, the soul's true worth is revealed during trials. When the *yetzer hara* attempts to seduce him, and he resists, refusing its urges, true virtue is shown. Then, at his passing, Hashem rejoices with the soul that withstood the trials, lifting it to the Garden of Eden for its full reward. The *yetzer hara*, defeated by the person, is the reason for all the honor and reward in the Garden of Eden; without it, one would be like an angel with no choice, undeserving of a reward for his efforts.

Thus the harlot, or *yetzer hara*, might indeed have honor because it fulfills the king's decree and elevates the soul through trials, filling the king with love for his child.

So, the *yetzer hara* enters the Garden of Eden with the soul, testifying to the soul's struggles and triumphs. Even the *yetzer hara* is sweetened and purified by the person, being refined in holiness's inner workings. Hence, it's stated 'behold, it was very good' - explaining 'good' [is the angel of life] urging life upon the person. 'Very' [is] the angel of death, who is indeed 'very good' for those who heed their creator's commands, as via this, they gain good life in the world to come. Without the accuser, the *yetzer hara*, the righteous would not inherit the treasures destined for the world to come.

The Shell of Lust Lies in the Spleen

The shell of illicit lust is rooted in the spleen, where it attaches to the feminine aspect of the adversary, leading people to sin.

Regarding sinners, Proverbs states, 'Thus is the way of an adulterous woman; she eats, wipes her mouth, and declares she has done no wrong' (Proverbs 30:20), indicating secret sins with false innocence, just as the spleen absorbs impurities without a mouth to take in nutrients, similarly, the harlot feigns having no mouth to deny her actions.

Hashem Will Remove Evil and End Death Forever

In the future, Hashem will remove all evil aspects of the *sitra achra* from the world, as it is written: 'He will swallow up death forever' - referring to the *sitra achra* as death, it will be absorbed and nullified eternally, and all aspects shall return to their prior state pre-sin of Adam, as it's said 'On that day Hashem will be one and His name one' - on Israel’s redemption day, the small face, synonymous with Hashem, and the kingdom, synonymous with His name, will unite fully, speedily in our days, Amen.

Dealing with Spiritual Forces Before Delighting in the Righteous

... at midnight, when the northern spirit awakens, Hashem strikes the evil spirits' domains, subduing and breaking their strength, then enters the external sanctuaries, breaking their power, preventing them from ruling. Only then does Hashem enter the Garden of Eden to rejoice with the souls of the righteous.

Danger of the Shells

Death is the feminine shell, Lilith, and Shadow of Death is... the adversary, they are one. This indicates the supreme shadow over death... thus the adversary empowers Lilith to rule the material world... the adversary rides on the serpent... the shells' corners are gates, controlling elements stretching across the world, leading humans into traps, entering these gates due to their poor choices, drawn towards death.

All these gates are hidden from humans, unaware of the dangers until they fall into death’s pit...

Hashem told Job that all the *sitra achra* will eventually be nullified.

The Movements of Spirits at Night

In the early night, due to royal judgments, all external forces and evil spirits awaken, raising the question of how this can be, given that such entities should rule from the north at midnight, gathering evil spirits, going into the great abyss.

If from the north, they should rule during northern rule. Yet how do they spread in the early night during southern wind's grace, designed to temper such evil?

The answer lies in these forces coming forth at the start of the night, tempered by the southern rule, preventing further adherence to holiness or nourishment beyond life. It drives them down from holiness to allow holy angels to rise and sing in their watches. Such is the integrated remedy, granting power to the *sitra achra* at nightfall, while the southern wind prevents upheaval, keeping everything balanced until midnight when they return to the great abyss's northern opening, elevated mercy awakening across worlds from midnight and beyond.

The Evening Prayer and the *Sitra Achra*

In the evening... with the *sitra achra* entwining darkness with light, it rules the night, thus the sages declared the evening prayer optional, with no set timeslot, praying throughout the night (based on Berakhot 27b).

[While praying the evening service] an upper unity forms, the danger arises that the ruling nocturnal forces might draw from this union's abundance, hence the evening prayer is discretionary, without a fixed time, to conceal unity from external forces' exploitation.

On Feminine Powers and the Source of External Forces

As night falls, and upper sanctuaries' gates close to block the external forces spreading worldwide... the profound abyss awakens, housing external entities, with malevolent beings causing harm. Here, Hashem puts the world to sleep to avoid harm, even entrapping the righteous with life-spirit awakenings. When external forces prowl, they bring dreams to humans, mixing truth with falsehood, ensnaring with sleep akin to a death state, giving them power to taunt humanity.

When the northern spirit stirs and half the night splits, a flame touches the roosters' wings, awakening humans with Gabriel's angelic rule, commanding the lower roosters to crow, awakening souls to toil in Torah. Thus, at midnight, the divine spark of Jacob and Leah’s unity ignites, raising the saints’ spirits to incite unity. Then, Gabriel’s call announces the righteous to rise, serving their Creator, studying Torah.

As morning arrives, the heavenly hosts praise Hashem, opening heaven’s nourishing gates for all sides, shedding abundance below, opening the grace gate attributed to Abraham, lighting Israel’s assembly with the spirit of reciprocity.

For those neglecting to stir their spirits for the Creator's service, how will they stand before the Blessed King when judgment dawns upon them? An absence of merit incurs death, captured in chains, akin to birds trapped without escape, so are the captured humans without merit to deliver them.

The Good Inclination Joins at 13

As scripture states [Genesis 2:7] 'and breathed life into his nostrils' - meaning: Hashem's image, the Shechinah, ruled over spiritual entities like *Metatron* symbolizing the good inclination and the adversary embodying the evil."

As written in Genesis 8:7, 'He sent the raven' – initially, the evil inclination was dispatched with man into the world, arriving before the good inclination... If the body succumbs to many sins, soiled by vice through heeding the evil, it mirrors the raven not returning to its Creator, constantly revolving. Afterwards, ‘He sent the dove,’ signifying the good inclination that joins man at thirteen, guiding him towards the Creator's service.

"One Should Always Incite the Good Inclination Against the Bad..."

A person must always rouse the good against the bad daily, remembering the judgment day upon his burial when enjoyment ends. The sages declared in Berakhot 5a that 'one should incite their good inclination against the bad' to cause the sacred to rebuke the satan above, overpowering it. He should strive persistently for the good inclination to chase away the bad until it flees, and if it doesn’t, delve into Torah study—for nothing breaks the evil’s strength like learning Torah. If the evil won’t relent, recall death’s inevitability to shatter it.

Idolatrous Images - The Evil Inclination of Lust

Anyone gazing at a woman's beauty by day to indulge at night transgresses 'You shall make no idols'. This ignites thoughts creating external menaces, 'images of idolatry.'

If intimate relations with one’s wife occur under such influence, offspring born deemed 'idolatrous images', due to soul taint from the adversary. Thus, the Torah warns against turning to idols, implying abstention from female gaze that leads to severe transgression crafting 'idolatrous images'. Resist yielding to fantasies when compulsion arises, to avoid producing adversarial offspring termed idols.

(Zohar, Kedoshim, Album Ra’ya Meheimna, 'Sweet From Honey' pg. 355-356)